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Bad Moon Rising
BARTLET'S OVERSIGHT ABOUT HIS MEDICAL CONDITION COULD CRUSH HIS PRESIDENCY; OLIVER PLATT GUEST-STARS -- The President's (Martin Sheen) vaunted administration could be brought down by the tiniest oversight as Bartlet secretly summons chief counsel Babish (guest star Oliver Platt, "Bulworth) to discuss how his failure to divulge his multiple sclerosis condition could be a criminal violation of full disclosure -- which would give his enemies enough ammo to destroy him. Meanwhile: a fuming Toby (Richard Schiff) orders C.J. (Allison Janney) to smoke out the insider who leaked vital information on the President's reversal on school vouchers; Sam (Rob Lowe) feels queasy when he learns that an aging oil tanker is leaking onto the coast of Delaware causing an ecological disaster -- and he could be liable since he brokered the deal for the behemoth in his previous shipping firm job while aware of the needed repairs; Josh (Bradley Whitford) clashes with a questioning Donna (Janel Moloney) as the U.S. prepares a huge cash loan to prop up the collapsing Mexican economy again. Summary Cast :Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn :Dulé Hill as Charlie Young :Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg :Janel Moloney as Donna Moss :Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler :John Spencer as Leo McGarry :Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman :and Martin Sheen as President Bartlet Special Guest Star :Oliver Platt as Oliver Babish :Emily Procter as Ainsley Hayes Guest Starring :Jacqueline Kim as First Lieutenant Emily Lowenbrau :Robert Curtis Brown as Jamie Hotchkiss :Kathryn Joosten as Dolores Landingham :NiCole Robinson as Margaret Hooper :Scott Lawrence as Congressional Staffer :Michael Mantell as Congressional Staffer :Eric Stonestreet as Staffer #1 :Scott Atkinson as Staffer #2 :Jossie Harris Thacker as Staffer #3 Co-Starring :Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol Fitzpatrick :Kim Webster as Ginger :Devika Parikh as Bonnie :William Duffy as Larry :Peter James Smith as Ed :David Ackert as Babish Staffer :Trace Beaulieu as Cal :Charles Noland as Reporter Steve :Kris Murphy as Katie Witt :Randolph Brooks as Arthur Leeds :Timothy Davis-Reed as Mark O'Donnell :Shishir Kurup as Zach Quotes : President Bartlet: It's really not even . . . I don't want you to even worry that much about it. : Leo: Sir? : President Bartlet: I'm easing in. : Leo: Okay. : President Bartlet: '''Well, Oliver, it really boils down to this. I'm going to tell you a story and then I need you to tell me whether or not I've engaged 16 people in a massive criminal conspiracy to defraud the public in order to win a presidential election. : Babish grabs "the big hammer" and smashes the dictaphone sitting on his desk : '''Oliver: Okay : Leo: So what do you think? : Babish: '''I am nowhere near to being able to answer that question. : '''Bartlet: You're going to be subpoenaed. I'm confident in your loyalty to me. I'm confident in your love for me. If you lie to protect me, if you lie just once, if you lie just a little, if you lie because you can't stand what's happening to me and the people making it happen, if you ever, ever lie - you're finished with me. You understand? : : stands in the middle of the Oval Office and turns as Bartlet enters. Babish: Good Evening, Mr President. : Bartlet: Well, I've got good news for you, Oliver. Turns out I didn't do everything right after all. Zoey had to fill out a family history form for Georgetown and because she was 17, a parent had to sign it. : Babish: And she left off the MS? : Bartlet: Yeah : Babish: And you signed it? : Bartlet: I'd give anything if I had. It was Lady Macbeth... There's a bad moon rising, Oliver. We both know it. They're gonna take me out for a walk. : sits down on the sofa. Oliver remains standing. : Bartlet: This isn't what you signed up for. Leo begged you to take this job. This isn't what you signed up for. If you leave, I'd appreciate it if you did it now, so it doesn't look like my lawyer bailed on me when the rain starts. No one's gonna hold it against you. Babish: Well, I appreciate that, Mr. President... If I stay, will you do exactly what I tell you to do? : Bartlet: I guess it depends. : Babish: No, I'm afraid it can't depend, sir. lengthy silence falls between them. Bartlet stands up, his hands in his pockets, and walks slowly toward his desk. : Bartlet: What would my first step be? : Babish: First, tell your staff. : Bartlet: Yeah. : Babish: Then, decide how to make a public announcement. : Bartlet: Yeah. : Babish: Then order the Attorney General to appoint a Special Prosecutor. Not just any Special Prosecutor; the most blood-spitting, Bartlet-hating Republican in the Bar. He's gonna have an unlimited budget and a staff like an army. The new slogan around here is gonna be "bring it on." He's gonna have access to every piece of paper you ever touched. If you invoke executive privilege one time, I'm gone. An assistant DA in Ducksworth wants to take your deposition, you're on the next plane. A freshman Congressman wants your testimony, you'll sit in his kitchen. They wanna drag you to The Hague and charge you with war crimes, what do we say? : Bartlet: quietly Bring it on. : Babish: I'll be in my office for a while if you need me. Category:Episodes Category:Season 2